Lou Nanni (’88), from the U.S., has been named Vice President for University Relations at the University of Notre Dame. In this capacity he will direct the University’s development operation, the Notre Dame Alumni Association, and the offices of special events and international advancement. Prior to this appointment Lou served one year as vice president for public affairs and communication at Notre Dame and eight years as director of South Bend’s Center for the Homeless, which he established as a national model in addressing the complex issues of homelessness. E-mail: < Lou.Nanni.3@nd.edu>.

Emil Bolongaita (’89) has returned to his native Philippines, where he will serve as Group Manager for Governance and Anti-Corruption with the AGILE program (Accelerating Growth Investment and Liberalization with Equity) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). After earning his PhD in Government from Notre Dame, Emil worked on the faculty of the Asian Institute of Management in Manila and Xavier University in Mindanao and since 1998 has taught in the Master in Public Policy Programme at the National University of Singapore. E-mail: <Emil_Bolongaita@dai.com>

Thomas Schuster (’90), from Germany, has been appointed Associate Professor of Journalism at Leipzig University. From 1994 to 1999 he was Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich and served as a consultant in telecommunications with Roland Berger & Associates, Germany’s top management consulting firm. Thomas earned his Ph.D. in political science in 1994 from the Free University of Berlin and has received a Fulbright scholarship and two fellowships from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). He has published three books and numerous articles for leading German newspapers.

Jasmin Nario-Galace (’92), from the Philippines, has completed her term as Registrar of Miriam College in Manila, but continues as Program Officer of the Center for Peace Education while working on her doctoral degree. “Our office is in the Global Advisory Board of the Hague Appeal for Peace. The past year has taken me to the different major islands of the Philippines to train school administrators on peace education. We are making the rounds of the country in partnership with the Catholic Education Association of the Philippines and the Office of the Philippine President for the Peace Process.” Her dissertation focuses on the effects of peace education in reducing prejudice. E-mail: <jnariogalace@yahoo.com>.

Catherine Byrne (’95), from South Africa, completed her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2002. Her dissertation was entitled “Responses of Victims to Perpetrators’ Justifications, Excuses and Apologies: Accounts in the Context of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” In March 2003 she will begin a post-doctoral position at the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict at the University of Pennsylvania.

Larissa Fast (’95), from Canada, was awarded a Ph.D. from the Institute for Conflict Analysis & Resolution at George Mason University in 2002, with the dissertation “Context Matters: Identifying Micro- and Macro-Level Factors Contributing to NGO Insecurity.” She is now Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel College, University of Waterloo, and also Program Associate for Project Ploughshares, an ecumenical peace and justice organization in Canada. Larissa has an article entitled “Is It Safe? Lessons from the Humanitarian Aid Community” in John Paul Lederach’s new book Into the Eye of the Storm: A Handbook of International Peacebuilding. E-mail: <lfast@uwaterloo.ca>.

Ojong (Princewill) Odidi (’00), from Nigeria, interned at the Carter Center after graduation in 2000, worked for an NGO in Chicago, and has now founded and directs Georgia Inter-Generational Project, Inc. in Atlanta, which works to create relationships between the elderly and school age children. In 2002 Princewill received a major grant from the Ford Foundation to conduct a Peace Education program in schools in Northern Georgia, and with strong support from the State of Georgia and local companies, his NGO now has 23 staff members and 67 volunteers, as well as paid interns and Americorps volunteers. Visit their web site at < www.georgiaprojects.com>.

Martin Ewi (’01), from Cameroon, has been appointed to head a new terrorism unit of the African Union, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He spent the previous year as an intern with the African Union Mission to the UN in New York City.

Jean-Paul Bigirindavyi (’02), from Burundi, himself a survivor of a landmine explosion while fleeing war, has been appointed International Research Coordinator in the Washington, DC office of the Center for International Rehabilitation, where he works on landmine issues and disability issues within the framework of human rights. He continues to develop plans and seek funding for a center in Nairobi to promote peacebuilding skills among youth in the Great Lakes region of Africa.
E-mail: <jpbuju@hotmail.com>.

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